


One Last Conversation

by Liquified_Organs



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Afterlife, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-16 00:17:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19306783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liquified_Organs/pseuds/Liquified_Organs





	1. Chapter 1

Bucky bounced Grant on his hip, humming along with the pop song playing on the radio. Grant burgled and clapped along with him.

_How did you take down Captain America?_

_We shot him in ze- ___

__"This is Barnes." Bucky set Grant in his baby chair. "You there, Stevie?"_ _

__"Hey, Buck. You havin' a good morning?"_ _

__"Grant hasn't thrown a tantrum yet, so yeah, it's been great. What about you? Aren't you supposed to be on a mission?"_ _

__"We're on our way back." The line crackled with static. "How's Grant doing?"_ _

__"He's doing great. He misses you, though."_ _

__" I miss him too, " Steve said softly. "Can you tell him I love him?"_ _

__"Of course I can, baby." Bucky kissed Grant's nose. "But you should tell him yourself."_ _

__"I love you, kiddo. You and your dad are my whole world." Steve sniffled. " I miss you guys."_ _

__"I miss you too, sweetheart." Bucky pulled a jar of baby food from the fridge. "I gotta feed Grant. I'll see you when you get back, yeah?"_ _

__"Yeah. See you then."_ _

__\-------_ _

__As Bucky hung up, Steve sighed and closed his eyes. Maybe it was cruel, but it was all he could have wanted in his last conversation with Bucky._ _

__He just hoped his son wouldn't grow up to resent the father he would never remember._ _


	2. Chapter 2

Bucky opened his eyes and looked around. Everything was white. Even the shadows seemed to glow endlessly. When he moved, the rustle of his hospital gown sounded deafening.

_"Dad! Dad, I'm right here, just stay with me, okay?" Grant was crying. Bucky tries to lift a hand to wipe away the tear falling down his son's face, but everything was going numb. Grant sobbed and clutched Bucky's hand. "Dad?"_

_"I love you, kiddo," Bucky said softly. "I love you. You know that?"_

_"Yeah, Dad." Grant nodded desperately. "I love you too. More than anything."_

_"I'm sorry you couldn't know your father." Bucky was crying too. "He would have died for you."_

_"You're going to see him again, Dad. You can be together again."_

_"You're so like him..." Bucky smiled sadly. "So stubborn, so earnest... He's so proud of you, I know it."_

_"Dad..." Grant sobbed. " Dad, please don't go..."_

_"I wish I didn't have to, kiddo..." Bucky sighed and squeezed Grant's hand before taking his last breath._

"You were right, you know." Steve sat crossed-legged next to Bucky. "I am proud of him. I'm proud of both of you."

Bucky didn't think he'd see Steve again, despite all the theories he'd heard about the afterlife. So seeing the love of his life sitting next to him? It brought back some feelings.

"I hated you for years."

"I know." Steve gestured to a wall a few yards away. On it, Bucky could see Grant being dragged away from his body by Clint and Sam. "I didn't see the sniper until after he had shot me. Once he had, well..." He shrugged. "I just wanted one last conversation with the people I loved most."

Bucky watched Grant collapse into the arms of Natasha. The rest of the team stood around them, most wiping tears from their eyes.

"They loved you more than you cared to admit." Steve smiled wistfully. "I tried so hard to convince you. "

"Where are we?"

"I like to think it's heaven." Steve spread his hands, and tendrils of color flew from his hands to weave together and create the perfect replica of their bedroom. "But it could be anything, really."

"Why didn't you call for help?"

"I had been shot in the lung, Buck. Even as I was calling you, I was trying not to cough up blood. I would've been long dead by the time they found me."

"Okay," Bucky said quietly. "So how do you do that? Is it magic?"

"What, this?" Steve gestured around him. "I'm not sure. I just can. It's how I'm not covered in filth and wearing my uniform, too. You can change anything. Your clothes, your age..." He trailed off. "But it was so lonely. Watching my kid grow up without me. Watching the love of my life scatter my ashes over the flower garden."

"Thank you for waiting." Bucky wrapped Steve in a close hug. "I know how hard it must have been."

"I had a good incentive," Steve smiled and pressed a kiss to Bucky's lips. Their first kiss in twenty-five years.

Not their last by a long shot.


End file.
